Tip: Elude the “Idea Serial Killer!”

As soon as a new story idea, scene, solution to a plot problem, character, bit of dialogue, etc. floats to the surface… JOT IT DOWN!

Sure, I have that comforting, confident voice too. The one that says…

“There’s no way we’ll forget a great idea like that! You don’t need to write it down.“

That’s the voice of the Idea Serial Killer and he’ll stop at nothing until all new ideas are dead forever! Okay, while I admit that’s a bit dramatic, the only way I’ve found to elude him is to jot things down as soon as possible.

Along with losing ideas forever, another issue with trying to remember them is, if I’m taxing my unconscious by forcing it to keep track a bunch of stuff, there’s much less room to play with options for that particular new idea or leave space for new ones.

Having an iPhone with a myriad of useful writing tools makes it much harder for me to justify breaking this rule. So, this post is as much a reminder for me as it is a tip for you.